Test No.2299
New Zealand 427 for 8 dec. (Nicholls 145*, Williamson 102) beat England 58 (Boult 6-32, Southee 4-25) and 320 (Stokes 66, Stoneman 52) by an innings and 49 runs March 26, 2013, Auckland. England lost their seventh wicket, Ian Bell to the last ball of the penultimate session. Caught Tim Southee, bowled Neil Wagner. England hung on for a draw. March 26, 2018, Auckland. England lost their seventh wicket, Ben Stokes, to the last ball of the penultimate session. Caught Southee, bowled Wagner. But New Zealand triumphed this time, overcoming two days of play lost to rain and another dogged England rearguard to complete an innings win under lights at Eden Park. Stokes and Chris Woakes survived close to the entirety of the second session to provide England with an opportunity to salvage an incredible draw, a distant dream when they were dismantled for 58, their sixth-lowest Test score, on the first day. On the stroke of another break though, for the third successive session, England lost a vital wicket as Stokes top-edged an attempted cut to backward point off Wagner. New Zealand chipped away at England's middle order in the afternoon, but lacked the penetration in the second session. Stokes and Woakes cut England's deficit from 152 to 69 and, more importantly, faced a combined 185 balls. The Barmy Army found their voice, but then the match turned again before dinner. Early in his innings, Woakes was surprisingly satisfied with chasing wide deliveries in the search for quick runs. If New Zealand created a chance or the ball beat the bat, Woakes subsequently tightened his technique, playing close to his body. With the lower order, Woakes was stolid, taking the majority of the strike and latching onto scoring opportunities to reduce the deficit. There wasn't much he could do to avoid his dismissal, though, fending a brute of a bouncer from Wagner to short leg. Stokes was more selective, strategically picking lengths to score against. Apart from cross-batted strokes against Wagner's short-ball strategy, he played largely with the full face, driving straight and through cover - 32 of his 66 runs, close to 50%, came in these regions. After reaching his fifty however, off his 128th delivery, Stokes appeared fatigued, losing his energy about as quickly as Auckland was losing natural light, resulting in an uncharacteristically loose shot. It was a much better batting performance from England, aided by improved underfoot conditions. Fuller-length deliveries were easily negotiated with the old pink ball not swinging, and the shorter ones were more comfortable to handle too, a slow fifth-day pitch allowing batsmen the time to adjust. Jonny Bairstow contributed a 72-ball 26, but was reprieved twice: a thick inside edge down leg not collected by BJ Watling, diving to his left, and then a drop by Trent Boult, at mid-on, off a long-hop from legspinner Todd Astle who was in his first spell of the Test. In a bizarre period of play, Bairstow pulled another long-hop, 11 balls later, to midwicket, where Kane Williamson leapt to his right to take his second terrific catch of the match. Astle eventually finished with 3 for 39, the best returns of the second innings. Fall of wickets:1-6 (AN Cook, 4.2 ov), 2-6 (JE Root, 6.2 ov), 3-16 (DJ Malan, 8.1 ov), 4-18 (MD Stoneman, 9.4 ov), 5-18 (BA Stokes, 10.3 ov), 6-18 (JM Bairstow, 11.2 ov), 7-23 (CR Woakes, 12.6 ov), 8-23 (MM Ali, 13.4 ov), 9-27 (SCJ Broad, 15.4 ov), 10-58 (JM Anderson, 20.4 ov) '''Fall of wickets: '''Fall of wickets: '''Match details *Series New Zealand led the 2-match series 1-0 *TV umpire - Marais Erasmus *Match referee - Sir Richie Richardson *Reserve umpire - Wayne Knights Close of play *Day 1 - New Zealand 1st innings 175/3 (KS Williamson 91*, HM Nicholls 24*, 69 ov) *Day 2 - New Zealand 1st innings 229/4 (HM Nicholls 49*, BJ Watling 17*, 92.1 ov) *Day 3 - New Zealand 1st innings 233/4 (HM Nicholls 52*, BJ Watling 18*, 95 ov) *Day 4 - England 2nd innings 132/3 (DJ Malan 19*, 46.5 ov) *Day 5 - England 2nd innings 320 (126.1 ov) - end of match Match notes Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 *New Zealand: 250 runs in 101.6 overs (612 balls), Extras 16 *5th Wicket: 50 runs in 124 balls (HM Nicholls 18, BJ Watling 31, Ex 4) *Drinks: New Zealand - 292/5 in 113.0 overs (HM Nicholls 75, C de Grandhomme 19) *New Zealand: 300 runs in 114.3 overs (687 balls), Extras 16 *HM Nicholls: 100 off 228 balls (11 x 4) *Tea: New Zealand - 347/7 in 128.0 overs (HM Nicholls 100, TG Southee 0) *New Zealand: 350 runs in 128.5 overs (773 balls), Extras 18 *8th Wicket: 50 runs in 65 balls (HM Nicholls 32, TG Southee 20, Ex 0) *New Zealand: 400 runs in 136.6 overs (822 balls), Extras 18 *Innings Break: New Zealand - 427/8 in 141.0 overs (HM Nicholls 145, N Wagner 9) *England 2nd innings *Dinner: England - 38/1 in 12.0 overs (MD Stoneman 18, JE Root 14) *Tea: England - 38/1 in 12.0 overs (MD Stoneman 18, JE Root 14) *England: 50 runs in 16.2 overs (98 balls), Extras 4 *2nd Wicket: 50 runs in 89 balls (MD Stoneman 26, JE Root 20, Ex 4) *MD Stoneman: 50 off 90 balls (6 x 4, 1 x 6) *Drinks: England - 94/2 in 29.4 overs (JE Root 33) *England: 100 runs in 32.3 overs (195 balls), Extras 4 *JE Root: 50 off 121 balls (5 x 4) *End Of Day: England - 132/3 in 46.5 overs (DJ Malan 19) Day 5 *England: 150 runs in 55.3 overs (333 balls), Extras 5 *Drinks: England - 166/4 in 66.0 overs (BA Stokes 16, JM Bairstow 13) *England: 200 runs in 78.4 overs (472 balls), Extras 6 *New ball taken after 80 overs *Tea: England - 217/6 in 82.4 overs (BA Stokes 26) *Over 82.4: Review by New Zealand (Bowling), Umpire - PR Reiffel, Batsman - MM Ali (Upheld) *England: 250 runs in 93.5 overs (563 balls), Extras 6 *BA Stokes: 50 off 128 balls (4 x 4) *Drinks: England - 253/6 in 97.0 overs (BA Stokes 50, CR Woakes 12) *7th Wicket: 50 runs in 115 balls (BA Stokes 31, CR Woakes 20, Ex 0) *Over 106.6: Review by New Zealand (Bowling), Umpire - PR Reiffel, Batsman - CR Woakes (Struck down) *England: 300 runs in 113.2 overs (681 balls), Extras 11 *Dinner: England - 300/7 in 113.3 overs (CR Woakes 38) *Over 118.5: Review by England (Batting), Umpire - PR Reiffel, Batsman - C Overton (Struck down - Umpires Call) *CR Woakes: 50 off 109 balls (8 x 4) External links *Scorecard at Cricinfo.com Category:Test Matches